Hi Arthur;
Ah, the topic of flame wars.
I program in Perl, Python, and PHP. I use them for different
applications, but they are all good. Usually I use PHP for web apps,
Perl and Python for other apps. But these are not hard and fast rules.
Best Wishes,
Chris Travers
Metatron Technology Consulting
ps Additional comments inline.
Arthur van Dorp wrote:
> Hi all
>
> This is a bit off topic but I don't know where else to ask (please tell
> me if you know). I'm going to build a web application. The choice of the
> underlying database wasn't difficult. After a few preliminary tests I'm
> confident that PostgreSQL is absolutely up to the task. But I'm at a
> loss regarding the "middleware". I know Apache quite well, so I wouldn't
> mind continuing using it. But what language/application server/whatever
> do you recommend? Java/J2EE/JBoss, Struts, Perl, Python/Zope, PHP 5,
> XYZ...? There are a few prerequisits such a framework would have to meet:
>
> * Reasonably scalable.
> * Works well together with PostgreSQL. An abstraction layer which
> separates the SQL stuff from the rest probably wouldn't be bad either.
> * Security:
> * I don't like to worry to much about buffer overflows, SQL
> injections and the like when coding.
Buffer overruns are prevented in Perl, Python, and PHP. SQL injection
attacks are a much larger issue though.
> * The framework shouldn't need a security update every few days.
> * Support for encryption at the web frontend side and possibly
> on the DB end (OpenSSL being my favorite).
> * Well established: Nothing that vanishes after a few months just
> because it was the latest craze. Something where you find documentation,
> mailing lists and a community.
> * Free (open source) and free (or reasonably priced with the possibility
> to change the provider). I've had my share of vendor lock-in.
> * Support for handling XML data as in- and output.
> * Separation of web frontend logic and web frontend design.
> * Ease of use is never bad. ;)
Otherwise, I like PHP, Perl, and Python.